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Rapid Report |
1 Abbott GmbH & Co. KG, Neuroscience Research, Knollstrasse 50, 67061 Ludwigshafen, Germany
2 Neuroscience Research Centre at the Charité, Charité University Hospital, Schumannstrasse 20/21, 10117 Berlin, Germany
3 Institute of Physiology and Pathophysiology, Heidelberg University, Im Neuenheimer Feld 326, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| Abstract |
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and ripples) are accompanied by strongly phase-coupled action potentials in specific subsets of GABAergic interneurones. It has been suggested that the resulting phasic, repetitive inhibition shapes rhythmic coherent activity of the neuronal network. Here, we examined whether synaptic inhibition entrains
200 Hz network ripples by applying the GABAA receptor antagonist gabazine to CA1 minislices of mouse hippocampus. Gabazine blocked spontaneously occurring sharp waveripple (SPWR) activity. However, local application of KCl to the dendritic layer elicited excitatory sharp waves on which
200 Hz ripple oscillations were superimposed with equal temporal properties of native SPWR. The activity also persisted in the additional presence of blockers of glutamatergic synaptic transmission. In contrast, synchrony was largely abolished after addition of gap junction blockers. Thus, GABAergic transmission appears to be involved in the generation of sharp waves but phasic inhibition is no prerequisite for the precise synchronization of hippocampal neurones during high-frequency oscillations at
200 Hz. Gap junctions on the other hand seem to be necessary to orchestrate coordinated activity within the ripple frequency domain.
(Received 19 November 2004;
accepted after revision 14 January 2005;
first published online 20 January 2005)
Corresponding author A. Draguhn: Institute of Physiology and Pathophysiology, Heidelberg University, Im Neuenheimer Feld 326, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany. Email: andreas.draguhn{at}urz.uni-heidelberg.de
| Introduction |
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510 Hz) and gamma band (
3080 Hz) activities occur during spatial exploration and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. At rest and during slow-wave sleep, sharp waves (SPW) and superimposed high-frequency ripples at
200 Hz can be observed (O'Keefe & Nadel, 1978; Buzsáki et al. 1992). Theta and gamma periods have been implicated in the acquisition of memory contents while sharp waveripple complexes (SPWR) may serve a role in the consolidation of recently acquired memories (Buzsáki, 1998; Siapas & Wilson, 1998). This hypothesis is based on the observation that sequential activation patterns of place cells are established during spatial exploration (O'Keefe & Recce, 1993) and re-played, at faster pace, during SPWR in subsequent episodes of non-REM sleep (Wilson & McNaughton, 1994; Lee & Wilson, 2002). Recent work has demonstrated that basket cells and bistratified cells, specific subtypes of inhibitory interneurones, fire strongly phase-coupled action potentials during SPWR (Klausberger et al. 2003, 2004). Such experimental findings, together with computer modelling, have led to the general notion that inhibitory interneurones can entrain multiple target cells into a common, rhythmic activity pattern (Cobb et al. 1995; Wang & Buzsáki, 1996; Tamás et al. 2000; for review see Whittington & Traub, 2003), although this notion may not apply to all forms of fast hippocampal network oscillations (Bracci et al. 1999). In line with this hypothesis, the precise spike timing of pyramidal cells during ripples has been suggested to result from fast, phasic inhibition (Buzsáki et al. 1992; Ylinen et al. 1995; Klausberger et al. 2003).
Here, we have tested this interneurone-network hypothesis for
200 Hz ripples. We made use of a recently developed in vitro model of SPWR where this pattern of activity can be recorded in mouse hippocampal slices (Maier et al. 2002, 2003). We found that block of GABAA receptor-mediated synaptic transmission abolishes the spontaneous generation of SPWR but that synchronous field ripples at
200 Hz can be reliably restored by dendritic puffs of KCl. Thus, fast synaptic inhibition is no prerequisite for coherent high-frequency network oscillations in the hippocampus.
| Methods |
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Experiments were performed on C57Bl/6 mice of both sexes aged 48 weeks and were approved by the Berlin state government (T 0386/98). Mice were anaesthetized with ether and decapitated, and the brain was removed. Brains were kept in cooled (
14°C) artificial cerebrospinal fluid (ACSF), containing (mM): NaCl 129, KCl 3, MgSO4 1.8, CaCl2 1.6, glucose 10, NaH2PO4 1.25, NaHCO3 21, gassed with 95% O25% CO2 (pH 7.4 at 37°C). After removal of the cerebellum, horizontal slices of 450 µm were cut on a vibratome (Campden Instruments, Sileby, UK). Minislices of the CA1 region were prepared by isolating area CA1 from the adjacent CA3 and subiculum (see Fig. 1A).
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) were filled with 120 mM caesium gluconate, 5 mM CsCl, 10 mM TEA-Cl, 8 mM NaCl, 10 mM Hepes, 5 mM EGTA, 4 mM MgATP, 0.3 mM Na3GTP and 5 mM QX-314; pH adjusted to 7.3 with CsOH. Access resistance was not allowed to vary more than 15% during the course of the experiment. No series resistance compensation was used. Sharp microelectrode recordings were performed with a bridge balance amplifier (BA-1S; npi electronics, Tamm, Germany). Electrode (o.d. 1.2 mm) resistance was > 80 M
, input resistance of pyramidal cells varied from 40 to 60 M
. After impaling a cell, negative current was injected for several minutes until the membrane potential had stabilized and current injection could be gradually reduced to zero. Bridge balance was repeatedly adjusted during the experiment by optimizing the voltage response to small negative current injections (100200 pA). Intrinsic properties of cells were initially assessed by negative and positive current injections of 200 ms duration. Offset potentials were determined at the end of experiment and were subtracted from the recorded values. Pressure application of KCl (1 M in ACSF) was performed through a micropipette (tip diameter 510 µm) positioned in the dendritic region of area CA1. Pressure parameters were 0.42.0 bar, pulse duration 530 ms using a custom-made pressure application device or a Picospritzer III (Parker Instrumentation, Chicago, IL, USA). In some control experiments, ACSF was used instead of KCl. Drugs were added from aqueous stock solutions (x 1000) except 6-cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione (CNQX; dissolved at 1000-fold in DMSO) and 1-octanol, which we applied directly to ACSF. All drugs were from Sigma/RBI.
Data processing and analysis
Details of data processing and analysis methods were similar to procedures described recently (Maier et al. 2003). Briefly, original extracellular data were filtered at 13 kHz, sampled at 510 kHz with a CED Micro1401 interface (CED, Cambridge, UK) and analysed off-line using the Spike2 software (CED). For detection of ripple oscillations, raw data were band-pass filtered at 150300 Hz and detection threshold was set at four times the standard deviation of event-free baseline noise or was determined arbitrarily and controlled by visual inspection.
Based on threshold detection algorithms, event markers were set for each ripple trough in band-pass filtered data. We then constructed interspike interval histograms from these events providing a reliable measure of the frequency content of the network oscillations.
Additionally, leading frequency of ripples was determined by the first positive side peak of autocorrelation functions derived from 50 ms raw data epochs. Power spectra (FFT, resolution 20 Hz) were computed from 150 ms data stretches where oscillation amplitudes were maximal. For comparison of different power spectra we calculated the area under the peak by integrating over the ripple frequency band (120250 Hz).
Quantitative results are given as means ± S.D. Groups of paired data were compared using the non-parametric Wilcoxon's test with P < 0.05 regarded as significant.
| Results |
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In order to elucidate the role of GABAergic inhibition for the organization of SPWR we added the GABAA receptor antagonist SR95531 (gabazine) to the bath solution. As expected, epileptiform activity was absent in CA1 minislices, which was the rationale for using this preparation. In the corresponding CA3 remnants, interictal-like discharges were regularly observed (7/9 slices showing epileptiform discharges; Fig. 3A). The effect of gabazine was quantified by whole-cell recordings of stimulus-evoked inhibitory postsynaptic currents in CA1 pyramidal cells in the presence of glutamate receptor blockers (20 µM CNQX; 30 µM
D-APV). Evoked IPSCs were reduced to 33.1 ± 10.4% of control at 0.3 µM gabazine (n
= 7) and were virtually abolished at 1.0 µM (4.8 ± 3.3%; n
= 4; Fig. 2DF). At 1 µM, gabazine rapidly and completely suppressed the spontaneous generation of SPWR in CA1 minislices (see Fig. 3A1). At 0.3 µM, however, the block developed more slowly (Fig. 2A and C), enabling a detailed analysis of SPWR during the transition phase from partial to full block. We analysed spontaneous SPWR at a time when the activity was suppressed by
80%. The remaining events displayed normal waveform (Fig. 2B) and our recordings did contain discernible ripple oscillations at similar frequency of occurrence as under control conditions (P > 0.05; n
= 5 slices; Fig. 2C). These results indicate that GABAA receptors are involved in the generation of SPWR but that full synaptic inhibition is not needed for the organization of
200 Hz ripples within the local CA1 network.
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200 Hz, other fast signalling mechanisms must be involved. We therefore added glutamate receptor blockers on top of 10 µM gabazine. Surprisingly, this treatment also did not alter the KCl-induced ripples (Fig. 4B, C and D1). Finally, we suppressed electrical coupling by gap junctions, in addition to the receptor blockers. Octanol (1 mM) largely abolished the regular autocorrelation of KCl-induced events (Fig. 4D) and reduced the power of the ripple-band (120250 Hz) by 60% compared to control (n
= 6, P < 0.05). Similar results were obtained with carbenoxolone (200 µM, n
= 4; data not shown).
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| Discussion |
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200 Hz. In contrast, GABAA receptor-mediated transmission seems to be involved in the initiation of SPWR, acting as a trigger for the compound network depolarizing potentials rather than organizing the neuronal discharges within SPWR. The mechanisms underlying this counter-intuitive role of GABAA receptor-mediated action have not been clarified but may involve synchronized discharges of electrically coupled interneurones or rebound activation of pyramidal cells (see, for discussion, Maier et al. 2002).
In hippocampal slices from rats,
200 Hz network activity can be elicited in calcium-free solutions where chemical synaptic transmission is blocked (Draguhn et al. 1998). These events do not, however, resemble native SPWR as closely as spontaneous network activity in slices from mice (Maier et al. 2002, 2003). In the mouse preparation we have already shown that SPWR depend on excitatory synaptic transmission as well as on electrical coupling (Maier et al. 2003), in line with accompanying theoretical work (Traub et al. 1999). Our present findings show that excitatory transmission can be replaced by K+-driven dendritic depolarizations and is not needed for synchronization of
200 Hz network oscillations. Using blockers of electrotonic coupling, we further confirmed the crucial role of gap junctions for network synchrony at this frequency (see also Traub et al. 1999; Traub & Bibbig, 2000; Whittington & Traub, 2003). It must be noted, however, that the pharmacological agents affecting gap junctions are poorly selective and may even fail to block electrical coupling under some conditions (Rouach et al. 2003). The role of synaptic inhibition for ripples is even less clear. Models and experimental work indicate that GABAA receptor-mediated transmission can stabilize fast oscillatory activity and determine its frequency (Traub & Bibbig, 2000; Traub et al. 2003). However, the dependence of SPWR activity on GABAergic transmission is difficult to test directly because blocking this function induces epileptiform activity in brain slices (Maier et al. 2003). Such hyper-synchronous activity can mask more subtle network events like normal SPWR. Here we made use of the CA1 minislice preparation, which does not display epileptiform activity upon disinhibition, possibly due to the low number of recurrent excitatory collaterals (Deuchars & Thomson, 1996). In contrast to recent observations in rat hippocampal slices (Colgin et al. 2004) spontaneous SPWR were present in mouse CA1 minislices, albeit at lower frequency. Using this preparation we show that fast IPSPs are not a crucial part of SPWR.
If synaptic inhibition is not needed to generate synchronized activity at ripple frequency, what could be its functional role during normal SPWR? It has been noted that only a minority of pyramidal cells are active during SPWR (Buzsáki et al. 1992; Maier et al. 2003) while the majority of projection neurones seems to be efficiently inhibited. Considering the finding that ripples re-play specific activation sequences of place cells (Wilson & McNaughton, 1994; Lee & Wilson, 2002) it is feasible that inhibition serves to suppress activity in those pyramidal cells which are not part of the activated assembly. Thereby, synaptic inhibition would enhance signal-to-noise ratio for information transfer in the two-stage memory model of hippocampal function (Buzsáki, 1989; 1998,).
| Footnotes |
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